Today, advertisements are used to persuade us to buy a particular piece of item. Similarly, propaganda is information that is used to convert a person, so that they believe in something they originally didn’t believe in. Propaganda also is the government’s message to the people–regardless if it’s true or false–to influence their opinions or decisions. Studying propaganda posters in history may allow us to have a better understanding of how they tried to manipulate different people, and how they targeted specific types of people with one poster.
"Image: Soviet propaganda.jpg." Wikimedia Commons. 7 November 2006. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 27 Oct 2008 http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Soviet_propaganda.jpg.
This propaganda has a strong and bold message, and it is extremely radical. The propaganda is trying to embed patriotic feelings in the hearts of supporters of the Bolsheviks. It will cause a new surge of feelings for the people to keep fighting for a cause they believe in. The vibrant red color this whole poster is made up of is the color of the Bolsheviks; the characters in the poster play an important role for transferring the message to people, the soldier stands for the Red Army and the workers in the background are the working class of Russia (who make up the Petrograd Soviets), and the symbol in the background is that of the Soviets. The colors are extremely effective because it catches people’s attention before they see anything else; the poster is clean and simple so people can understand its meaning and not interpret it differently.
"Soviet propaganda posters." Soviet Posters. 27 Oct 2008 http://www.davno.ru/soviet-posters/propaganda/.
Using one person to send out a message to everyone, and having a few simple words underneath the picture is particularly an effective method to gain people’s attention. This poster gets its message across by using a person’s facial expression and hand signals; the words to the side and below the person also help direct a passerby towards supporting the poster. However, the person that is conveying the message is a woman, and this might stop a lot of people from paying attention to this poster; women had to fight for their voice and opinion to be heard by everyone. The propaganda is trying to get people to stop talking, and that they should be quiet and submissive. It is also trying to get people to think carefully about what they say. The message of this poster is “being quiet can save your life”. This poster is trying to promote censorship.
Flickr. 27 Oct 2008 http://static.flickr.com/54/135870813_73171afa59_m.jpg.
This poster has a message that gives hope to many people. The message of the poster is to get people to keep facing forward, and to not look back. It is trying to get supporters to keep going and to not give up. It transmits its message by using the flag, colors, and characters. The flag is red which is the Bolshevik’s color, the sun at the back is lively which could stand for a new day, and the men who are holding up the flag are the elected members of the working class. The man that is holding up the flag may be the leader of the followers, who belong to the Bolsheviks. Infusing all these elements together is an effective way to get the message across. People may react to this poster differently, but they are positive reactions.
"Image: Soviet propaganda.jpg." Wikimedia Commons. 7 November 2006. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 27 Oct 2008 http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Soviet_propaganda.jpg.
This propaganda has a strong and bold message, and it is extremely radical. The propaganda is trying to embed patriotic feelings in the hearts of supporters of the Bolsheviks. It will cause a new surge of feelings for the people to keep fighting for a cause they believe in. The vibrant red color this whole poster is made up of is the color of the Bolsheviks; the characters in the poster play an important role for transferring the message to people, the soldier stands for the Red Army and the workers in the background are the working class of Russia (who make up the Petrograd Soviets), and the symbol in the background is that of the Soviets. The colors are extremely effective because it catches people’s attention before they see anything else; the poster is clean and simple so people can understand its meaning and not interpret it differently.
"Soviet propaganda posters." Soviet Posters. 27 Oct 2008 http://www.davno.ru/soviet-posters/propaganda/.
Using one person to send out a message to everyone, and having a few simple words underneath the picture is particularly an effective method to gain people’s attention. This poster gets its message across by using a person’s facial expression and hand signals; the words to the side and below the person also help direct a passerby towards supporting the poster. However, the person that is conveying the message is a woman, and this might stop a lot of people from paying attention to this poster; women had to fight for their voice and opinion to be heard by everyone. The propaganda is trying to get people to stop talking, and that they should be quiet and submissive. It is also trying to get people to think carefully about what they say. The message of this poster is “being quiet can save your life”. This poster is trying to promote censorship.
Flickr. 27 Oct 2008 http://static.flickr.com/54/135870813_73171afa59_m.jpg.
This poster has a message that gives hope to many people. The message of the poster is to get people to keep facing forward, and to not look back. It is trying to get supporters to keep going and to not give up. It transmits its message by using the flag, colors, and characters. The flag is red which is the Bolshevik’s color, the sun at the back is lively which could stand for a new day, and the men who are holding up the flag are the elected members of the working class. The man that is holding up the flag may be the leader of the followers, who belong to the Bolsheviks. Infusing all these elements together is an effective way to get the message across. People may react to this poster differently, but they are positive reactions.
The 3 propaganda posters presented above all have something in common; they use a variety of colors to project their meaning, and the message is usually very strong and clear. The message also comes from a group of people who are trying to get people to support their cause, which is something the posters have in common. The posters tell me that the Russians were manipulative, and it’s like playing a game of tug-of-war, they are trying to pull more people onto each one’s side. Russia is a huge place and it was difficult to govern the whole place at once, so they had to use some sort of approach to communicate with their people. Propagandas direct citizens towards something the people in power want them to be interested in. The use of propaganda is very effective because they brainwash people and lead them to believe in something else.
